Against Philanthropy
From Socialist Worker Online, a rant against philanthropy by Richard Seymour:
Philanthropy has been most widespread when capitalism has been at its most vicious. In the US, since 2000, wages have consistently failed to keep up with inflation, while the wealth of the richest 1 percent has grown staggeringly.In 1999, Bill Gates had more wealth than the bottom 45 percent of US society combined, and more than the GDP of the world’s 70 smallest countries. This creates an interesting situation. On the one hand, child mortality in the US is higher than in Cuba. On the other hand, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gets $26 billion to invest in market oriented initiatives in health and education.
Philanthropy is not exclusively the domain of the Gates, Buffetts, Turners and Bloombergs of the world. People-powered giving is a grassroots paradigm shift, where conscious communities harness experiential and financial assistance to create great positive change in the world. The more power and momentum that is manifested in the grassroots, the more potential to effect societal change that can address the disparities of which Seymour writes.
Comments
I like your take on Seymour's article, though I don't entirely disagree with what he says either.
Posted by: Pip Wilson | August 19, 2006 03:31 AM
Hi Pip - thanks for stopping by, and the mention on your site.
No, I don't disagree with everything Seymour writes either, but for him to discourage the entire concept of philanthropy is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater (as I believe the phrase goes), and counterproductive to the urgent necessity of healing humanity and the planet.
Posted by: Tyler | August 19, 2006 10:51 AM